Louis Longi at work in his outdoor studio and site of the approved project.

Louis Longi’s controversial live-work development in Laguna Canyon can proceed. On a 3-2 vote, Laguna beach’s City Council on Tuesday denied an appeal of the project by a neighborhood organization.

Council members Robert Whalen and Toni Iseman voted against the project.

The majority of council members, though, said they favored the proposal because zoning in the area allowed it even though the size of the project conflicted with a specific plan for the area that called for preserving rural character.

More than 60 people commented on the project, who were about evenly divided in their opinion: 32 opponents and 29 proponents.

Opponents described the 30-unit complex as too big, and contributing to traffic and a potential for flooding. They wore green “Save the Canyon” stickers, reviving a slogan of anti-development activists that blocked home-building in the canyon in the ’80s.

Proponents say the project will improve the canyon and help retain artists who are fleeing the art colony because of high-cost housing. Many wore red t-shirts.